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General Director David Gockley’s final season features some of his favorites: Verdi’s Don Carlo, Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, Janáček’s Jenůfa and a new production of Carmen. Secure your seats and subscribe today!

San Francisco Opera invites you and your family to attend FREE screenings of our Opera-in-an-Hour Movies presented throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. To learn about where you can catch a screening of our family friendly operas, click here.

Mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong has her hands full as Madame Butterfly's trusted servant, friend and confidant Suzuki in this summer's production of Puccini's beloved opera. She's no newbie to the role, having performed it previously with the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera and even in Japan. One thing Elizabeth always brings with her on her operatic travels is her camera. She maintains a website, A Singer's Suitcase, where she posts one photo every single day with a simple caption. She shared with us a small selection of photos she's taken during her stay in San Francisco for today's blog post. Take a look, and be sure to check out her website for a deeper glimpse into the life of a travelling opera singer. Elizabeth will be in San Francisco performing in Madame Butterfly through July 9, so if you haven't seen her yet, don't miss your chance!

A life on the road can get lonely from time to time. Brian Jagde, our Pinkerton in this summer's Madame Butterfly, is no exception to the rule. Thankfully he has his trusty companian Cav with him where ever he goes! Brian most recently appeared on the San Francisco Opera stage in our 2012 production of Tosca. Where has Brian and Cav been since? Let's find out in our Operatic Doggie Diary!

It was cold in New York in February, 2008 when I flew into LaGuardia airport, but not too cold. After years of living in Lexington, KY, where I raised a son and worked on a Master’s in Vocal performance at the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre, I always flew into the busiest airport of my hometown for opera auditions with the romantic head of a twenty-something professional virgin from the midwest—this, when I was anything but.

Jimmy Marcheso is a member of our stage management staff. Jimmy joined the company in 2010 as a Rehearsal Assistant in the company's Rehearsal Department. Jimmy has been on the production staff as an Assistant Stage Manager for the 2013/14 Season and has worked on the productions Mefistofele, Dolores Claiborne, and this summer La Traviata and Madame Butterfly. He has also worked as an assistant stage manager and assistant stage director for Opera San Jose, Opera Omaha, Opera Santa Barbara, and Cal Performances. We sat down with Jimmy to discuss his work at SFO and to learn more about what it's like to be in the heat of the action backstage.

For a major opera company, putting on a classic American musical like Show Boat is a joy and a challenge. To get an early look at how the effort would be received by members of the public, we invited avid tweeters to apply to live tweet the final dress rehearsal of the show on May 30.

18 live tweeters, armed with charged gadgets and the hashtag #keepsrolling, kept up a rolling commentary on the action.

Introduction

Backstage at San Francisco Opera is a fascinating, fast-moving, mysterious and sacred space for the Company’s singers, musicians, dancers, technicians and production crews. Musical and staging rehearsals are on-going, scenery is loaded in and taken out, lighting cues are set, costumes and wigs are moved around and everything is made ready to receive the audience. From the principal singers, chorus and orchestra musicians to the creative teams for each opera, in addition to the many talented folks who don’t take a bow on stage, this blog offers unique insight, both thought-provoking and light-hearted, into the life backstage at San Francisco Opera.